Conspiracy theories seem to meet psychological needs and can be almost impossible to eradicate. One remedy: Keep them from taking root in the first place.
“While enforcing their rules on the president may help prevent him from egging on his followers further, the rush to delete videos posted by those very followers may end up making them harder to hold accountable. “
“There’s such a fun food scene in the city that we all just miss, and this is our ability to replicate that as much as possible until it’s safe to go back out again.”
As the social media platforms become more active in tackling false claims around politics and health, disinformation agents are searching for “new” ways to spread their messages.
By arguing with a message, you are spreading it further. This matters, because if more people see it, or see it more often, it will have an even greater effect.
Plus: Journalistic norms vs. right-wing populism, what journalists think about deleting their tweets, and the unfulfilled promise of augmented reality for news
Owen, Laura Hazard. "Facebook will spend less time policing “Men are trash” content, more time taking down “Worst of the Worst”." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 4 Dec. 2020. Web. 20 Jan. 2021.
APA
Owen, L. (2020, Dec. 4). Facebook will spend less time policing “Men are trash” content, more time taking down “Worst of the Worst”. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/12/facebook-will-spend-less-time-policing-men-are-trash-content-more-time-taking-down-worst-of-the-worst/
Chicago
Owen, Laura Hazard. "Facebook will spend less time policing “Men are trash” content, more time taking down “Worst of the Worst”." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified December 4, 2020. Accessed January 20, 2021. https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/12/facebook-will-spend-less-time-policing-men-are-trash-content-more-time-taking-down-worst-of-the-worst/.
Wikipedia
{{cite web
| url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/12/facebook-will-spend-less-time-policing-men-are-trash-content-more-time-taking-down-worst-of-the-worst/
| title = Facebook will spend less time policing “Men are trash” content, more time taking down “Worst of the Worst”
| last = Owen
| first = Laura Hazard
| work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]]
| date = 4 December 2020
| accessdate = 20 January 2021
| ref = {{harvid|Owen|2020}}
}}
